Cold Case: Detectives tracking new leads in Chapman Hwy. murder

Nearly nine years ago, an East Tennessee man was found dead in his business on Chapman Highway, and detectives with the Knox County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Division are still turning new leads.

Bob Kilgore, 68, was not only a well-known businessman, but also a father, grandfather, brother, son, and friend to many.

"He was one of the most generous people that you would ever meet," said Bob Kilgore's wife."He was always loving towards his grandchildren, and they were kind of like the apple of his eye, and I'm sure they were."

"Of the three of us, you know me and my cousins, I was probably lucky enough to get to know him the most," said Jade Kilgore, one of Kilgore's granddaughters.

Family members said it's a daily chore to get through everyday life ever since Kilgore was found dead inside Stone Source on May 24th, 2004.

His daughter, Andrea Kilgore, went to his business after he didn't pick her up from the airport.

"I had to take a cab from the airport," said Andrea Kilgore. "I knocked on the door, everything was pitch black, all of the vehicles were there."

Andrea Kilgore said she went down the street to what was an Amico gas station at the time, and asked a clerk for help. Together, they went back to Stone Source, and the clerk used a rock to break a window of the building.

"It's like surreal, it's not real," said Andrea Kilgore, remembering when she opened the door to find her father's body.

"It was devastating. I have never seen anything like that on TV. You see these cold case files and all these things they recreate. But that's nothing compared to what you walk into," said Andrea Kilgore.

Detectives described the scene as gruesome, with blood spewed on the walls.

"They got him from behind with a knife, and they cut him," said Detective Sara Quindry.

Quindry said Kilgore still had around $8,000 stashed in his pocket, so it did not appear robbery was the motive.

Family members and Quindry said they believe the Kilgore knew the killer or killers.

"I think it was somebody that was angry at him," said Quindry. "Many witnesses said this, when he's done talking to you and if he's angry, he'll turn around and walk away. So when he turned around and walked away, that's when they got him. "

"I feel robbed. I feel very robbed," said Andrea Kilgore. "And I would just like to look the person in the eyes and ask 'why'?"

Quindry said the cold case division is constantly following new leads. She said new evidence was shipped off to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the last four months.

"There are several people that I believe know what's going on with this case. And if they would just come forward and tell the truth, that's all we want. We want the truth. And then, you know, we follow our leads until we find them," said Quindry.

Quindry said each witness interview can lead to another witness interview, and until detectives track down the person or persons who killed Kilgore, they will not stop working on the case.

"We want justice for him, and we want justice for his family," said Quindry.

Andrea Kilgore said justice will never truly be served because her son never got to meet his grandfather.

"They would have gone fishing and done all the things the other grandchildren had a brief time to do," said Andrea Kilgore.

But, family members said an arrest would help bring closure, nine years since their loved one was murdered.

"We'll just let him know if he's listening up there in heaven, that we're still fighting for him,and we're asking questions of him every day. And that we have not forgotten him," said Marie Kilgore.

"It's really easy, especially after so many years, to lose faith but at the same time, even if we never find out who did it, that's not going to bring him back and we still will always have his memory, nobody can take that from us," said Jade Kilgore.

Anyone with information on the unsolved murder is asked to call the Knox County Cold Case Division at 215-3742.